Ferozsons in talks to produce Remdesivir
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KARACHI: Ferozsons Laboratories announced on Monday that its subsidiary BF Biosciences Ltd (BFBL) was in negotiations to enter into a non-exclusive license agreement with Gilead Sciences Inc for the manufacture and sale of Remdesivir to supply Pakistan and 126 other countries.
“There is no obligation at this time for any party to execute any transaction,” Ferozsons told the PSX in a notice.
Ferozsons share hit the upper circuit in trading on Monday as investors fell for the company stocks which also saw several other pharma companies’ record substantial gains.
It went on to say in the notice that “If an agreement is executed by Gilead and BFBL, once production starts, we are confident that we will have sufficient quantities over time to serve the needs of the patients in Pakistan.”
This was followed by a note of caution: “However, at the moment we are uncertain as to the timelines for first launch as an agreement remains to be executed, and thereafter local regulatory approvals and sourcing of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient for manufacturing Remdesivir may take some time”.
Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2020
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Comments (36) Closed
May 12, 2020 08:53am
Indians will loose sleep over it.
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May 12, 2020 08:55am
India has already bycotted Gilead over this agreement.
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May 12, 2020 08:58am
Never heard Pakistan making vaccines for 126 countries ? Good luck
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May 12, 2020 09:02am
IK can stop taking loans as Pakistan can get rich with new vaccine
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May 12, 2020 09:05am
Another superb news.
Great going Pakistan.
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May 12, 2020 09:07am
Are you sure this will comply with global standards?
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May 12, 2020 09:08am
@Thomas , Remdesivir is not a vaccine. It is an antiviral drug administrated intra veinously.
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May 12, 2020 09:09am
Can we compete with India??
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May 12, 2020 09:11am
India is better than Pakistan in medicine
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May 12, 2020 09:30am
Not possible in Pakistan. Try making aspirin.
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May 12, 2020 09:38am
@Thomas , get your hearing checked then....
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May 12, 2020 09:42am
@Thomas , remdesivir is not vaccine but drug.
Dont jump.
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May 12, 2020 10:29am
Bangladesh already did it.
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May 12, 2020 10:54am
@Banloo, India is interested in proper vaccine or antidote to fight covid19. Pakistan can go ahead with Remdesivir of Gilead Science.
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May 12, 2020 01:40pm
Then even I should try my luck
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May 12, 2020 04:46pm
It may only be to artificially prop up the share price of Ferozsons Laboratories, which had been doing badly at the stock market since the last few years.
Some clever brokers will make millions at the cost of gullible investors.
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May 12, 2020 05:31pm
Great going, MashahAllah. Pakistan strong.
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May 12, 2020 05:34pm
Gilead has refused to co-operate with Pakistani firm due to quality trust issues
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May 12, 2020 05:36pm
Never heard Ferozsons?
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May 12, 2020 06:25pm
Manufacture for local use.
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May 12, 2020 07:56pm
@Fastrack , really do you live in reality
Pakistan is going to make the vaccine for Covid?????
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May 12, 2020 09:46pm
@Fastrack , “ IK can stop taking loans as Pakistan can get rich with new vaccine”
Gilead will get rich. Countries manufacturing drugs do not get rich by just that activity. 70% of world’s vaccines are made in India by the way.
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May 12, 2020 09:53pm
@T-man, Why should India boycott when Gilead UA also partnering with Indian companies.
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May 12, 2020 10:24pm
Gilead is working with more than 10 companies in India and one company in Pakistan for manufacturing this drug. In the past Gilead agreement for like Hepatitis C drug was with 11 Indian companies to sell in 101 countries while in Pakistan (1 company) & Egypt (2 companies) for in-country production and Local distribution only.
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May 12, 2020 11:08pm
Jubiliant Lifesciences of India has already signed the agreement with Gilead to manufacture Remdesivir.
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May 12, 2020 11:09pm
@Imran , Why do u need to 'compete' with a nation six times more populous and 4 times larger in size with a GDP almost 9 times ? We have our own issues to handle . U look at the serious problems facing your country. Good luck
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May 12, 2020 11:53pm
Pakistanis don’t get too excited. Gilead has signed agreement with 4 Indian companies and 1 Pakistan company. And this too is only for distribution in mainly Asian countries. Gilead maintains rights for the USA and Europe markets. Following from its website:
Gilead has signed non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreements with five generic pharmaceutical manufacturers based in India and Pakistan to further expand supply of remdesivir. The agreements allow the companies – Cipla Ltd., Ferozsons Laboratories, Hetero Labs Ltd., Jubilant Lifesciences and Mylan – to manufacture remdesivir for distribution in 127 countries.
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May 13, 2020 12:26am
Bangladesh and india have already signed agreements. Its their local partner nothing earth shattering
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May 13, 2020 02:07am
Gilead Sciences (GILD -1.2%) has out-licensed non-exclusive rights to antiviral remdesivir to India's Jubilant Life Sciences allowing the latter to sell the drug in 127 countries including India.
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May 13, 2020 02:18am
@Jjacky, btw is it the same "vaccine" which Modi wanted the scientists to test but got rejected?
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May 13, 2020 06:31am
@T-man, No, three Indian companies will be manufacturing this.
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May 13, 2020 07:11am
GSK, Pfizer, Bayer, Wyeth, and many others have been manufacturing in Pakistan for over 50 - 60 years so the technology and skills are there. Let's see if a local firm can pull up with the big boys, and scale.
Hope they do not mess up quality like Indians who lost the American market and were shut out after failing to meet FDA standards.
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May 13, 2020 12:27pm
It is a game changer for Pakistan.
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May 13, 2020 03:15pm
Great move by Ferozsons Laboratories of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
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May 13, 2020 05:15pm
Pakistan is now Asian giant in medicines
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May 13, 2020 09:04pm
@Fastrack , just like CPEC and oil gas reserves has made it rich.
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